The Poker Game Agreement
by Anna Purple
Summary: Amy and Sheldon decide to keep their break-up a secret while the gang takes a trip to Las Vegas for Leonard's and Penny's wedding. A poker game may determine the future of Sheldon's and Amy's relationship.Who will win?
1. Chapter 1

Amy closed her laptop and tears started welling up in her eyes. Taking a break from her relationship with Sheldon wasn't easy, but she really needed it. She had gathered all her courage to actually go through with it, but now that she'd done she felt doubts creeping up on her... Did she overreact?Did she make a mistake?Just a few months ago, Sheldon finally told her that he loved and it was one of the happiest moments of her life... _But does he love me the same way I do?_It was true that he loved her, but maybe he loved her the same way he loved his friends, maybe he wasn't actually in love with her like she was with him. It was this thought and his apparent lack of interest during their kissing sessions that lead her to make this difficult desicion. She needed time to think and so did Sheldon.

Her phone started ringing. Part of her hoped that it was Sheldon and she was disappointed to see that it was Penny. Obviously she heard the news of their break-up and wanted to hear her side of the story. She didn't want to talk to anyone for the time being, but she knew that Penny would keep calling or even come over if she didn't answer. Reluctantly, she picked up the phone.

"Hey Penny." she said and tried not to sound like she had being crying.

"We don't have much time" Penny declared in a serious voice "Pack quickly, we're going to Vegas. Leonard and I are getting married!" she added excitedly.

"Getting married?So suddenly?Are you pregnant?" she asked

"Shut up, I'm not pregnant, although that's what my mother is going to think...We just decided to get it over with. Be here in two hours, we'll all go to the airport together."

"Um, Penny I don't think I'm up for a trip to Vegas. Sheldon and I..."

"Had a fight, I know" she interrupted her "Come on, Vegas is the perfect place to make up!You'll even share a room, you've always wanted that!"

"Share a room?Is Sheldon ok with this?" she asked.

"Sure, I asked him an hour ago and he said it was okay. Sorry it took me so long to call you, I was booking the rooms."

"It's alright I'll be there."

"Great! By the way, you're my maid of honor, so bring something nice to wear."

"Sure. I'm really happy for you Penny!"

"Aww thank you. See you in two hours!"

"Okay, bye."

Oh crap, thought Amy. All she wanted was some time away from Sheldon and now she would have to share a room with him? The thought both excited and terrified her. Her only other option was to bail, but she couldn't miss her best friend's wedding. Crap.

But if she went to Vegas with them she could possibly ruin her best friend's wedding with all the break-up drama. If the gang found out, it would be all they talked about. She wouldn't let that happen. She took a deep breath and called Sheldon.

He answered immediately.

"Amy?Did you change your mind?" he asked

His voice sounded weird, like he had a bad cold. Had he been crying too?Amy felt a pang of guilt.

"No, Sheldon, I'm sorry I didn't change my mind. Penny just told me about the wedding in Vegas."

"Oh" he cleared his throat "I would have told you about it but you broke up with me."

"I didn't break up with you, I just need some time... Anyway, this isn't why I called you, have you told anyone about our br, um, about our 'time out'?"

"I didn't know we were using basketball terms to describe it, but no I haven't told anyone yet." he replied

"Good, let's keep it this way."

"Excuse me?" he asked startled.

"We won't tell anyone we're taking time apart. We'll act like nothing's happened until the wedding is over." she explained.

"Why?" he asked again.

"Because we don't want to steal Leonard's and Penny's thunder. It's their special day, I don't want everybody talking about us. Are you okay with it or not?"

"Yes, I'll do it." he answered

"Good. I'll see you in two hours. Just, act normal."

"Alright. I love you Amy."

"I know... Bye."

She hang up the phone quickly because she couldn't restrain herself anymore. She broke into tears.

Back in his apartment, Sheldon did the exact same thing.


	2. Chapter 2

Sheldon was sitting in his spot, while his roommate was pacing up and down the room, mambling to himself.

"...What if my mother gets mad?No she won't get mad, she doesn't care!But what if Penny's parents get mad?I don't want my in-laws to hate me, right?" he turned to Sheldon.

"Oh you're talking to me?I thought you were just ranting to yourself. No, I suppose you don't want your in-laws to hate you." he answered flatly.

"Gosh, I knew it was a mistake!" shrieked Leonard and pulled his inhaler out of his pocket.

He took a big breath and continued his raving.

"And I don't have any clothes!Why didn't I buy a tuxedo?"

"Because nobody buys tuxedos. I'm sure you can rent one there." offered Sheldon.

"What about the shoes?I meant to buy high-heeled shoes for my wedding, but now I don't have any time! Oh my God, Penny will look like an Elf and I will look like Bilbo freaking Baggins!" he look at Sheldon "You're my best man, do something." he cried

Sheldon calmly got off the couch, marched up to Leonard and slapped him across the face.

"That actually helped, thanks." muttered Leonard while he held his face.

"Anytime my friend." said Sheldon as he sat back in his spot.

"I hope it doesn't leave a mark." Leonard looked panicky again.

"What if it leaves a mark?" he asked anxiously.

Sheldon was starting to lose his patience. It took him every ounce of restrain he had to not start crying again, and on top of that he had a hysterical friend to comfort.

"Leonard, please stop your whining!Nobody's forcing you to get married. I have problems of my own to think about."

"What problems?Are you and Amy still fighting?" he asked

"No, we made up." he lied "I'm just overwhelmed with the wedding, you're not the only one without a tuxedo and frankly the mere thought of Las Vegas repulses me."

"I know... Look I'm sorry about freaking out, it's just that I never do implusive things. Anyway, I'm going over to Penny's to see if she has any cream for my face." he said and left the apartment.

Sheldon leaned his head back on the cushion and closed his eyes. What a horrible, horrible day.

He finally made the decision to ask Amy to marry him and what did he get?A so-called "break". Instead of getting engaged he got dumped. If only Amy had let him talk first. But now it was too late. If he proposed to her she would think it's only ploy to get back together with her. But the truth was that he had the ring for a few weeks.

And now he had to spend the weekend with her and their friends and act as if nothing happened. But there was a silver lining. He would be sharing a room with Amy. Surely, he would be able to chage her mind! He decided to take the ring with him, just in case.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. It was propably Amy. He was starting to panic now. How was he supposed to act around her?She said they would pretend that everything was fine between them, but he wasn't sure he could keep it together.

He took a deep breath and went to answer the door.

"Play it cool Cooper." he told himself

He opened the door and there she was, Amy Farrah Fowler, the woman he loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with, the woman that hurt him so much today. He felt as though he handn't seen her in a hundred years. Her pale face was the same as always, but her green eyes had this look of distanse, the same look she got every time she was determined to stay mad at him. Why was _she_ mad at him?She was the one that that wanted "time to evalute some things".

"Hello." she said calmly

"Hello, Amy. Come in." his voice sounded cold and indifferent, but inside he was burning with a mixture of anger, sadness and longing.

"Thank you." she said "Where are Leonard and Penny?" she asked

"In Penny's appartment getting ready. You can wait here."

"Alright." she said and she sat down, not in her usual spot next to his but in the far side of the couch. He sat down as well and looked at her.

"We should talk about sleeping arrangements." she announced

"I'm sure that Penny informed you that we'll be sharing a room." he stated

"Yes, she also told me that you were okay with it. You'll tell her that you changed your mind and that you want a seperate room." she demanded

"That's not possible." he declared "The rooms have already been booked, and besides a retraction of my earlier statement may lead them to suspect that you broke up with me!"

"Sheldon, I didn't break up w- anyway, that's not important now. Okay, you're right it might look suspicious... I'll secretly book another room when we get there."

"That's not possible either. There's a high risk that you'll be discovered?Do you want to risk it?" he asked

"No" she gave in "I suppose there's no other way."

"I'm afraid there's not. We'll just have to, as Penny would say, suck it up."

"It'll be fine. You don't snore and it's not like you'll make any sexual advances at me. You're clearly not interested in me that way." she added in a bitter tone.

"Not interested in you?" he snapped "Is this the reason you broke up with me?"

"I didn't break up with you Sheldon, I just w..."

But he didn't let her finish her sentence. He slided torwards her, put one hand on her waist and one hand on her shoulder and started kissing her. She immediately started kissing him back and she wrapped her hands around his torso pulling him closer to her.

Suddenly the door opened and Penny barged in.

"Break it off lovebirds, our cab is here." she called

Amy pushed Sheldon away. She was flushed and breathless, Sheldon noticed, and she also looked like she was angry.

"You will not do this again." she whispered angrily.

"You didn't seem to mind earlier." he thought, but he knew better than to say it out loud. He just nodded and went to get his suitcase.

He felt a little better. For a few seconds Amy had forgotten the break-up and she had given into him completely. He knew that he'd get her to change her mind, but if not by kissing her, how?


	3. Chapter 3

"...My wedding will be a grand event, about a thousand guests, you know how big my family is!And we're rich, so there will be lobster and champagne for everyone...Oooh and it will definitely be themed, maybe we will have a Game of Thrones themed wedding, I know Emily would love it if we recreated the Red Wedding... But I would never have a Vegas wedding, it's so tucky." blabbered on Raj.

"Will you shut up?" yelled Penny from the seat behind him

Amy who was sitting right next to Raj and had been the subject of his non-stop raving throughout the flight couldn't agree more. Sheldon was in the window seat, because Sheldon always had to have the window seat and looked like he was in a rather good mood, considering the situation. He was terrified of flying, he hated Las Vegas and - as he claimed- his girlfriend had just broken up with him, but there he was smiling and even humming to himself. Maybe he was thinking about his stupid Flash again.

"No I will not shut up!" Raj yelled back "you're ruining everything!"

"Stop being a baby, we wouldn't have let you plan our wedding anyway." added Leonard.

"Fine" he quipped "I will plan Sheldon's and Amy's wedding!Amy how do you want it to be?Assuming Mr Cooper here ever pops the question..."

Amy took a big breath. She didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or to cry.

"You know, Rajesh, I liked you more when you couldn't speak to me."

"Oh I seem to have struck a nerve here. Sorry." he said, not looking the slightest bit apologetic "Hey, Sheldon how would you like your wedding to be?" he asked.

Huh. She could hear him in her head saying "I find the concept of marriage ridiculous and I will never participate in it."

But that's not what he said.

"Well" he started "I would want an intimate ceremony, just family and friends. Harp music while we walk down the isle, because Amy loves it... I'd also like it to be in Klingon, but Amy would never accept it, so I'll have to settle with English." he sighed

Amy's jaw dropped as she turned to look at him. For a second she thought that she had taken hallucinogenic drugs by accident, but this was real.

"What?" was the only thing she managed to articulate.

"Do you have a problem with harp?Fine by me, pick any instrument you like!"

"No, it's not the harp, it's just... I never thought you'd have an opinion on this matter."

"Of course I do!" he exclaimed

Amy felt her resolve weakening again. She should have never let him kiss her. Ever since that stupid, passionate, perfect kiss she wanted to call off the break and continue their relationship. And now there was Sheldon, planning their perfect wedding. Two days ago that would have made her the happiest woman in the world, but she knew that, just like the kiss, this was a scheme, a way to make her forget everything that was wrong with their relationship. She had to be strong.

However, the hard part was just getting started. Everybody fastened their seat belts and they landed. In a few hours Amy would have to share a room with Sheldon.

* * *

After they arrived at their hotel, each couple, plus Raj and Stewart who would share a room, went to get ready for the Bachelor/Bachelorette dinner.

When Sheldon and Amy got to their room, she was shocked to see that it had one king-sized bed. Her feelings were mixed equally with delight and disappointment.

"I thought you asked Penny to book a room with two single beds." she said

"Well, I didn't." he replied "What I had in mind was vastly different, I didn't know you would break up with me."

"How many times do I have to tell you, I didn't break up with you!" she snapped "Anyway, we've never slept in the same bed before, even in the fort we had about 4 feet distance between us, so what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that it would make you happy." he answered

"Right." she said dismissively "I'm going to the bathroom to get ready."

She took her suitcase and left the room.

Make her happy?Was that another ploy?He did say that Penny asked him about the sleeping arrangements before their skype conversation, but maybe he was lying.

She decided to wear a black skater dress Penny got for her on her birthday. She'd never worn it before because it was too revealing. It wasn't too short, just right above her knees, and it didn't show any clevage but her back was entirely exposed. She matched it with her yellow high-heels and applied her make-up like Penny had taught her. She liked the outcome.

When she got out ofthe bathroom she saw that Sheldon was dressed and waiting for her.

He looked at her and he smiled.

"You look beautiful" he said "but I like you more when you wear colorful clothes."

"This is a formal occasion." she stated flatly. She turned her back on him and headed to the door.

"Wait!" he called out suddenly.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to wear a jacket?" he asked

"No."

"A cardigan perhaps?"

"Nope."

"B-but your back..." he started

"What about my back?" she interrupted him

"Nothing...Maybe you'll get cold, that's all." he stammered

"No, I won't. Let's go."

* * *

"Well, this sucks!" proclaimed Raj

Dinner had proven to be very dull, especially for Raj who was determined to hate the whole trip. He wasn't wrong through, the food was bad and the atmosphere was even worse.

"He's right" chimed in Howard "This is worse than my Bachelor party!"

"I think your party was delightful."offered Sheldon "This, however, is really bad."

"Yeah, Penny we should have gone to the strip club we went to the last time we were her- oops!" said Bernadette before realizing she had revealed too much. They never told the guys they visited a strip club.

"You went to a strip club?" shrieked Howard "and you wouldn't let me hire a stripper for my bachelor party!Come on guys we're going to a strip club right now."

"You're not going anywhere!" she retorted "Penny and I didn't even want to go, Amy practically dragged us there."

"It's true" added Penny "she stole my iPad."

"Did she now?" asked Sheldon

"What if I did?" countered Amy and took a sip from her third glass of wine.

"Leonard we have to go to strip club." continued Howard "They got to go, and so will we."

"Hey, I have an idea." said Penny "How about we all go to a strip club?There are places with both male and female dancers."

Everyone agreed, including Sheldon.

"Really?" Amy whispered to him "You'll go to a strip club?"

"You did." he answered "Why shouldn't I have some fun as well?"


	4. Chapter 4

Over the years Sheldon Cooper had been to many horrible places like the bus, crowded fast-food restaurants, the church his mother attended in Texas... But this was far worse than all of them combined. Not only was he in Las Vegas, but he was in a strip club! All around him were drunk people mad with lust, waving dollar bills to almost entirely naked men and women. He wanted to close his eyes and run out of this abysmal place.

But he couldn't leave and even worse he had to pretend he was having fun. Amy had been to a strip club before and according to Penny and Bernadette she had fun! The thought of a naked, sweaty man grinding on Amy infuriated him, but this was neither the time nor the place to get angry. He would decipline Amy after they got back together. Maybe it was time he gave her another spanking. But now he had other things to do.

After their kiss back in Pasadena, Sheldon was confident that Amy would eventually forget all this nonsense about taking some time apart, but things had gotten worse. Amy seemed colder and more irritated than ever and every approach he made was met by a wall of ice. He had deduced from what Amy had said, that the reason she broke up with him was his lack of interest in her sexually. With the kiss he demonstrated that her assuption was wrong, and thus he expected an immidiate reconciliation. Obviously, he missed something. If he didn't know all the reasons that led to the break-up, there was nothing he could do to fix it and Amy wasn't in a rather chatty mood. How would he get her to talk?

"Sheldon?" Leonard snapped him back to reality.

"What?" he asked

"I asked you what would you like to order, but you seem to be somewhere else."

"Um, I'll have a scotch on the rocks and an umbrella." he said

"Alright, but don't drink too much, I can never get you to shut up when you're drunk." pointed out Leonard.

Eureka! He really did tend to get talkative when he was intoxicated and so did Amy. That was it! The only way to get her to talk to him was to get her drunk. He looked over to the girls' table. They were at seperate tables, but fairly close to them. He could see that Amy was already halfway through her first cocktail. She'd already had three glasses of wine over dinner, but that wouldn't be enough. He had to speed things up, but he had to be settle.

"Buy everyone a round of shots, the girls too." he whispered in Leonard's ear.

"What?Why?" he asked looking puzzled.

"Social convention dictates that the groom buys shots for everybody." he stated matter-of-factly

"Is tequila okay?"

"Yes, I've heard it makes you drunk really fast."

"What?" Leonard asked again looking more perplexed.

"Nothing, just place the order."

He waved at the waiter and within a few minutes eight shots of tequila arrived.

"What are those for?" called out Penny

"Social convention dictates that I buy everyone shots." responded Leonard, smiling at her.

"Okay." she raised the shot glass "To social conventon!"

"To Leonard and Penny." added Bernadette

Everyone drank the tequila including Sheldon. The taste was horrible and it made his throat burn, but Amy had drunk it too and that was good. But she needed a bit more.

"You know Penny" he called out "It's tradition for the bride to buy a round of shots as well."

"Sure." she replied "I would buy some anyway." she laughed

"What has gotten into you?" questioned Leonard.

"Nothing, just keeping up with tradition." he answered

After a while the second round of shots arrived.

"To Vegas!" screeched Raj

"To Vegas!" echoed the rest and drank up. This is what Sheldon imagined that paint thinner tasted like.

He looked over at Amy. She didn't show any signs of intoxication yet. Darn it, that girl could hold her liquor. Penny had trained her well.

"Shots for everyone!" Sheldon announced.

"Seriously Sheldon, do you want to get drunk?" inquired Leonard.

"No! But I'm the best man and social convention..."

"Yes, yes I get it!" said Leonard

They ordered the third round. Sheldon wasn't sure he would be able drink again. The alcohol was starting to affect him. He felt dizzy and all the emotion he had been bottling up all day came to the surface. He wanted to cry, he wanted to grab Amy and kiss her, he wanted to tell her he loved her and at the same time he wanted to yell at her: "It's not fair! I wanted to marry you and you broke up with me."

He drank some of his water and tried to calm himself. Meanwhile, the shots arrived. Everyone raised their glasses for the third time.

"To Sheldon!" toasted Leonard

"To Sheldon!" echoed the others, minus Amy who drank the shot without saying anything.

When noboby was looking, Sheldon threw the tequila at the floor. If he got drunk his plan would crash and burn. He had to test if there was any progress.

"Hey Amy" he called "you're the maid of honor, it's traditional to buy some drinks." he suggested

"Well, fucked tradition." replied Amy without even looking at him.

Good, we're getting there. Amy only cussed when she was intoxicated. He decided to make the next move.

"Amy?May I have a word with you in private?" he asked

"No, you may not." she answered in a mocking tone.

Darn it. She still didn't want to talk to him! Clearly she wasn't drunk enough. She still hadn't finished her cocktail and the shots had only managed to make her more angry. He had to get her to drink more.

Suddenly he got an idea. It was a horribly risky idea and he really dreaded having to go _there._ It was okay, he would explain everything to Amy after they got back together.

"Buy me a lap dance." he told Leonard

"Are you out of your mind?" demanded Leonard.

"This is a bachelor party, social con..."

"Shut up about social convention already!" he interrupted him "What's really going on?Are you trying to make Amy jealous?" he asked

"Yes." he admitted

"Because she went to a strip club without telling you?"

"Yes." he lied. He couldn't tell him about the break-up, Amy had forbidden it.

"Buddy, you won't accomplice anything with this. It might even make things worse."

"I know, just do as I say. Pleeeeeaaase." he pleaded

"Fine." he gave in

"Just make it look as though you're forcing me to do it. It will still serve my purpose and it won't make Amy too angry."

"You've given this some thought." he got up "Guys, my best man here has never been to a strip club before! How about we buy him a lap dance?"

They guys cheered. Penny and Bernadetted started to laugh while Amy's eyes widened in horror. She took a big gulp, finished her drink and motioned the waiter to get her some more.

"No, Leonard that won't be necessary." he protested without much frevor.

"Come on, you're all about tradition today, you're my best man and I'm buying you a lap dance."

"Alright." he agreed

Amy looked beyond shocked. She took a sip from Penny's drink while she waited for hers to arrive.

Meanwhile a stipper was standind over Sheldon. She was blond and the only parts of her body that were covered were her bathing suit areas... How did he get himslef into this mess?

"Please don't touch me!" he exclaimed in a panicky tone

And then she started her... dance. The things I do for love, he thought. This was too awful, he had to go to his safe place. He looked over to Amy, because she was his safe place.

She looked absolutely furious. She had finished Penny's drink and now she was taking big sips from her own cocktail. In a moment of insanity, he winked at her. He was glad to see that she finished her second drink. Good, let the alcohol flow through you.

Finally, it was over. She hadn't touched him much, but he stil felt compelled to immerse himself in a bathtub full of purell. He got up and went to the restroom to wash his hands.

After he washed his hands ten times, he found an angry Amy waiting outside the men's room.

"So, did you think about your stupid Flash when your stripper friend was rubbing herself on you?" she asked in a drunken slur.

"No, I only thought about you." he replied "And germs, but mostly you." he added

"Is this another scheme?" she demanded "Like the kiss and all this wedding talk?"

He couldn't take it anymore. He pinned her against the wall.

"Listen to me." he whispered in her ear "I love you, I want you, I long for you. What else do I have to do to prove it?"

"Let me go..." she murmured

"No, I won't, not until you tell me the reason you broke up with me... Is it because you think I don't desire you sexually?"

"I don't want to talk about it." she breathed

"If this is why you broke up with me" he leaned in closer "you're wrong." he said and started kissing her. Like earlier that day, she kissed him back.

He didn't know how long they kissed, it may have been a few minutes or even a few years. All he knew was that he felt ecstatic. When they finally pulled apart, he gently stroked her cheek and smiled at her.

"Does this solve your problem?" he asked

"No Sheldon. I wish it did. But it's more complicated than this."

"Amy please, just tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it!" he felt his eyes tearing up again.

"There's nothing you can't do... Just let me think things through."

"But..."

At that moment Penny walked up to them, while they were still in embrace.

"Hey!What's up with you two today?" asked Penny "Did Sheldon finally hit puberty?"

"Penny, this isn't a good time." he said in an irritated tome.

"Of course it is. We're going gambling!"

But Sheldon didn't want to gamble. He was so frustrated he wanted to scream! How could he fix this mess if Amy wouldn't talk to him?He had to think of something else, he had to get her to talk to him.


	5. Chapter 5

Amy's head was spinning. All around her people were drinking, gambling and laughing but all she wanted to do was cry and throw up, not necessarily in that order. She shouldn't have drunk so much, she shouldn't have let Sheldon mess with her head and most importantly she shouldn't have let him kiss her again. How ironic, thought Amy. When they were still together he only kissed her because he was obligated by the Relationship Agreement and the minute she asked for some time to think he became a kissing machine. But she knew it was all an act. She wished his actions were sincere, but she couldn't believe it. Sheldon hated change and even the prospect of a break-up terrified him so much that he'd do anything to stop it from happening. If she continued her relationship with him without taking some time to think if it was really worth it, she knew that nothing would change, that they would remain in the same place they were 5 years ago. She felt trapped but she loved him so much that she wasn't sure if she wanted out yet.

"Awwww look they're having a poker tournament!"

Bernadette's screeching voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked around and she saw that a poker tournament was taking place.

"I love poker" continued Bernadette "but Howie never wants to play."

"We tried playing stip poker once and you threw a glass of wine at me!" retorted Howard

"It was a bad beat, it's normal to get upset!" she countered "Do any of you play poker?"

"I do!" exclaimed Penny "We played all the time back home but instead of chips we used cans of beer."

"Leonard do you play?" asked Bernadette

"Of course." said Leonard while Penny snorted.

"He can't play!He doesn't have a poker face. We played strip poker once and he got an asthma attack bacause he had a straight. Not to mention that he giggled like a little girl everytime he tried to bluff." she laughed

"No I didn't!" he complained "And I do have a poker face."

"I'll have to agree with Penny, you do not!" said Sheldon

"Yeah, like you do?" argued Leonard

"Better than yours."

"You can play poker?" asked Amy

"Of course I can." he smiled "I'm from Texas." he said as if it was all the explanation she needed.

"Do you play?" he asked her

"Yes." she answered without elaborating any further. She taught herself how to play back in college, hoping that the cool kids would invite her to their poker games but that never happened. Still, it was a good way to pass her time so she would play alone sometimes. All these years later, even with all those people around her she felt lonelier than ever.

"Come on guys let's go play some black-jack!" said Penny "All you geniuses can count the cards and we'll be rich!" she cried excitedly

"Penny that's illegal." sighed Leonard.

"I know, I was just kidding. Come on let's go spend some money!"

"I don't feel very well." started Amy "I'm sorry Penny, I think I need to go get some sleep."

"Oh no, you can't miss all the fun."

"I think I had enough fun for tonight. Have fun!" she turned around and headed to her room. Suddenly, she felt a hand holding hers.

"I'm coming with you." proclaimed Sheldon, who had followed her.

"No you're not." she said flatly and yanked her hand away from his.

"But..." he started

"I said no!" she yelled.

"Amy please! If you're not feeling well I need to take care of you." he implored

"Why?Because your stupid Relationship Agreement says so?" she asked

"No, because I want to."

"No you don't. Go back Sheldon, I'm drunk not sick and I don't need your help."

"But Amy..."

"Seriously, why won't you leave me alone?" she screamed "I just want you to leave me alone."

"As you wish." he said with a look of defeat on his face.

Amy got to the room, took off her clothes and got into the shower. The warm water felt really good and it soothed her aching head. She wished she could wash this day away, all the pain and all the other feelings. She wished she could go back to being happy with Sheldon, but she couldn't. She had been lulled into a false sense of progress ever since he told her that he loved her, but she was wrong. They were exactly at the same place they were a few years ago. She wanted to finally move forward in her life and she wanted to do that with Sheldon, but she knew he wasn't in the same place. He was always part of her plans, but she was never part of his. She would either have to accept this or break up with him. She had a lot to think about when this nightmarish weekend would be over.

All of a sudden she felt her head spinning again and she lost her balance. She tried to grab the shower courtain but it was too slippery. Out of nowhere two arms appeared and caught her before she fell. She looked up and saw Sheldon's clear blue eyes.

"Sheldon" she murmured

"That's why I insisted to come with you." he said as he helped her out of the shower.

"Sheldon!" she shrieked "I'm naked!"

"There's no need to panic," he said as he handed her a towel "I've seen you naked before." he smiled.

"That was different." she muttered "What are you doing here?"

"I'm saving you from bashing your head apparently."

"Thanks for that...But I told you to leave me alone."

"It's a good thing I didn't, you'd be bleeding to death right now." he sighed as she gave him a deadly look.

"I'm sleepy Amy, it's well past my bedtime and I hate casinos, that's why I came to my room."

"Alright, now get out I want to get dressed." she demanded

"Wait, since I saved your life I think you owe me some answers."

"Sheldon I'm tired..." she started

"So am I Amy!I'm tired of you being so angry with me and not telling me why. How do you expect me to fix things if you don't tell my what I did wrong?"

"I don't need you to fix anything Sheldon, I just need some time to think!"

"Amy there's nothing to think, I love you!I was even going to ask..." he started saying but she couldn't listen to him

"Stop saying you love me!" she snapped "I don't even think you love me anymore, you're so used to having me around and you just don't want things to change. You'll never love me like I do."

Sheldon's mouth gaped open and he was finally stunned into silence. He was crying, she saw.

"We need to talk about this, you're wrong!"

"There's nothing to talk about Sheldon." she took a deep breath "Listen, if you don't stop pressuring me I'll have to terminate this relationship. We haven't broken up yet, but if you don't leave me alone we will."

"Fine." he said and walked out of the bathroom.

Amy couldn't hold her tears anymore. She didn't mean to say all these things. It was true that she thought he'd never love her the way she did, but she knew that he loved her in his own way. She shouldn't have hurt his feelings... The alcohol was making her irrational.

By the time she got dressed and dried her hair, Sheldon was already in his pyjamas. He passed by her without talking and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. When he got out Amy was in the bed, pretending to be asleep.

She felt him getting into the bed. He got under the covers and slided over to Amy's side. He caressed her hair as he whispered: "I really do love you."

"I know, I'm sorry" she wanted to say, but she didn't say anything.

As she drifted to sleep, she enjoyed Sheldon being so close to her. Maybe she was wrong, maybe there was some hope for them after all.


	6. Chapter 6

Sheldon looked at his reflection in the mirror at the tuxedo rental store and he adjusted his bowtie. He thought he looked rather handsome. Only his red eyes betrayed the fact that he cried himslf to sleep the previous night. He told the guys it was because he didn't sleep well. He hated lies, yet he found himself unable to tell the truth, partly because Amy had forbidden it but mainly because he didn't want to say out loud that his relationship may be over. Sharing it with his friends would make it more real and it would hurt even more.

This morning he woke up and Amy was in his arms, sound asleep. For a few precious moments he forgot everything that had happened and he felt like the happiest man in the world. Then he remembered the cruel reality. _She thinks I don't love her,_ he thought. How could she think that? Maybe in the past his feelings hadn't been clear to her, but after he told her that he loved her he didn't expect her to have doubts.

"This is awful." Leonard snapped him back to reality.

"No, I look really good." he remarked

"I was talking about me!" he exclaimed

Sheldon turmed and looked at him. The sleeves of his jacket were too long and his pants were clearly made for a taller man.

"Try an other one." he offered

"I've already tried ten tuxes!" he hissed

With the exception of Sheldon, the guys weren't happy with their tuxedo choices. The store had good reviews on yelp, but it didn't accomodate their needs. Howard only managed to find a baby-blue tux from the kids section, Raj complained that everything was "out of style" and Stewart looked like a corpse no matter what color he tried. And Leonard hated everything.

"That's it, I'll have to get married in my underwear." said Leonard

"We can adjust the length of the pants and the sleeves, sir." said the store owner

"The wedding is tonight!" snapped Leonard

"It can be done by tonight."

"Oh really?Okay, thank you, I'm sorry." he murmured

"Can we go now?" asked Sheldon

"What's the hurry?" inquired Raj

"I need to get back to the hotel and take care of Amy." he answered

Amy was so hangover that he couldn't even join Penny and Bernadette in their search for a wedding dress. Sheldon felt guily for getting her drunk, she almost fell in the shower because of him. He hadn't made the best decisions in his attempt to get her to talk to him. But he'd devised a better plan now and he needed to get to their room to set it in motion.

"Did you guys make up?" asked Wolowitz

"Yeah, Penny caught them making out outside the men's room in the strip club." giggled Leonard

"Yes, we're perfectly fine." Sheldon rolled his eyes

"I'm glad, you seemed really upset last night." said Leonard

"I don't know If it makes you feel any better but Bernie told me that Amy didn't actually drag them to the strip club. They went willingly." added Howard

It doesn't, he thought. He never really cared about that. All he cared about was fixing this mess with Amy. He was so desperate he almost told her about wanting to propose to her. It was a good thing that she interrupted him because she had become so paranoid about his intentions that she'd never believe he wanted to do it long before the break-up.

* * *

When he finally got to the room it was past noon and he found Amy still asleep. He ordered some food for her. On his way to the hotel he had bought a red rose, a deck of cards and some aspirin. When the room service arrived with Amy's breakfast, he sat on the bed and gently stroked her hair to wake her up. She strirred a little bit but she didn't open her eyes.

"Amy" he whispered "it's time to wake up. Your breakfast is here."

"Mmmmmmm" was all the response he got.

"Amy!" he repeated a bit louder "You need to get ready for the wedding."

Amy turned on her side and resumed sleeping.

"Amy!" he yelled this time "Wake up!"

"What?" she muttered sleepily

"I got you some breakfast, you need to wake up."

"Why?" she asked

"Leonard's and Penny's wedding, did you forget?"

"Oh my God!"

She finally opened her eyes and jumbed out of the bed.

"I forgot about the wedding!What time is it?" she asked in a panicky tone

"Relax it's 1 o'clock, they said they'd do it around 9."

"Then why did you wake me up so early?"

"So you'd have time to sober up." he said

_And to get back together with me_, he thought

"Oh, I'm sober but my head is killing me."

"Here have some aspirin. But eat your breakfast first." he handed her the bottle. He brought the tray with her breakfast. Scrabbled eggs, bacon, french toast, coffee, orange juice and a red rose.

"What's this for?" she asked when she saw the rose.

"It's a way of apology." he answered

"For getting me drunk?" she raised her eyebrow.

"You figured that out huh?" he smiled

"Of course, now that I'm sober. You tried to get me drunk so that I would talk to you."

"You're too smart Dr. Fowler."

"Smarter than you." she said and started eating

"I'm sorry for pressuring you last night. I was just desperate to find out why you want time apart from me and I fear that I've made things worse."

"You didn't make things worse and you didn't make things better. I still need time to think."

"You said you don't think I love you..." he uttered

"I feel really bad for saying that." she sighed "I know you love me, in your own way."

"I love you the same way you love me."

"I seriously doubt that." she countered

"No!I really do. Amy please..."

"Sheldon, I told you I don't want to talk about it!" she hissed

"Then you're leaving me no choice... You and I are going to play a game."

"What game?" she asked, puzzled.

"Poker. Texas Holdem to be precise."

"Why?"

"Let me explain. We'll play ten hands, if you win you get to ask me one question and I have to answer with complete honesty. And vice versa."

"Aha. And why would I want to play that game?"

"If you win more hands than me, I'll leave you alone, no more questions. Also you'll get a prize, something I got for you a few weeks ago."

"A gift?I don't need a gift." she stated

"It's not a gift." he countered

"Okay... And if you win?You can't make me get back together with you." she demanded

"If I win, we'll talk about our relationship. You'll answer all my additional questions and you'll let me explain myself without interrupting me. And I'll still give you that thing I got for you."

"Oh I still get the prize? It's a win-win situation." she laughed sarcastically

It was a win-win situation for both of them. If she won, he was confident that his answers to her questions would be satisfactory and this stupid misanderstanding would be resolved. Then he'd give her the prize, the engagement ring. If he won, they would talk things through, they'd fix this mess and then he would propose to her. Win-win.

"So, do you agree?" he asked

"No." she replied

"No?" he exclaimed

"I just want some time to think and you want to play Texas Holdem with a 20 questions twist. I think I'll pass."

"I can't let you do that. If you don't agree I'll tell everyone you broke up with me. You don't want to upstage our friends' wedding right?"

"Are you blackmailing me?" she demanded

"Yes, I'm sorry but I'm doing it for the good of our relationship."

"You really want to work things out, don't you?" she asked

"Yes, I do." he replied

"Fine. I'll do it... I'll propably win anyway, I've had a lot of practice."

"We'll see about that."

"I don't get one thing. Why do you want to play poker?There are so many other games you're more accostumed to."

"Cause we're in Vegas baby." he winked at her.


	7. Chapter 7

The idea of a poker/question game seemed absolutely ridiculous to Amy. Sheldon had blackmailed her into accepting to play, but she was sure that if she refused he wouldn't tell anyone the truth about their relationship. He was only bluffing. She wasn't quite sure why she was doing this. Maybe she was touched by all the effort Sheldon had put in his clumsy attempts to get back together with her, maybe part of her had many questions to ask him... In any case, if she won she'd finally get some peace of mind and she'd win a mysterious prize. But if she lost... Maybe she didn't mind losing as much as she thought she did.

"We don't have any chips." she pointed out.

"We'll play with money. I have many one-dollar bills from our visit to the strip club last night." he said

"Why did you get one-dollar bills?You didn't even tip the stripper who gave you a lap dance."

"Wolowitz told me that's what men do." he raised his shoulders "And I gave Leonard some money to give her,I didn't want to touch her and I was in dire need to wash my hands."

"If you didn't want to touch her why did you beg Leonard to buy you a lap dance?"

"You know why." he raise his eyebrows

"Anyway" she rolled her eyes "Fine, we'll play with money... The small blind is one dollar and the big blind two." she proposed

"Great... The winner keeps the money!" he smiled

"So I get you to shut up, I get a mysterious prize and money." she laughed "This weekend is starting to improve!"

"You won't win." stated Sheldon "But you'll still get the prize!"

"What's the prize?" she asked him

"It's a secret... Enough with the talk, let's play!"

She was the big blind so she put two dollars in the pot. Sheldon shuffled the deck and starting dealing. She got an 8 of hearts and a 3 of spades. Not a very good start.

Sheldon put another dollar in and opened the flop, the first three cards. Amy saw a 4 of clubs and a pair of 3!

"Yes!Three of a kind." she thought, but she didn't let the enthusiasm show in her face.

She looked at Sheldon. His facial expression didn't reveal any information about his hand. She didn't expect him to have a good poker face.

"Who taught you how to play poker anyway?" she asked him.

"It's not time for questions Amy, you're welcome to ask me again when you win a hand... It's your move." he pointed out

"Oh come on, tell me!"

"Fine" he sighed "My father taught me and my brother when we were young... Of course my mother didn't approve, so I haven't played much. Who taught you?" he asked

"I taught myself... Actually this is the first time I play with another person." she admitted

"Really?Then I need to inform that since you're the big blind you have the first move." he smiled

"I know..." she said and bet 3 dollars.

"Finally some action!Call." he said and put 3 dollars in the pot. Then he opened the turn, the fourth hand, which was a 5 of diamonds. This wasn't very good for Amy, because Sheldon would beat her with a straight if he had A-2 or 6-7... Nevertheless, she didn't show her disappointment and bet 4 dollars this time.

"I like how agressive you are." he smiled again and called.

Before he opened the last card, the river, Amy prayed to a deity she didn't believe in for the last card to be an 8, a 4, a 5 or another 3 so she would win for sure. She really wasn't in the mood to answer any of his questions yet.

But the river card was a Jack of hearts and it didn't help her at all. Not wanting to bet any more money she checked.

"Hmm... What do you have Amy? A straight perhaps?Let's see" he put 5 dollars in pot

"Call." she said and they opened their cards.

As she suspected, Sheldon had an Ace and a 2 and he won a pot of 26 dollars and a sincere answer to any question he asked.

"Wow, you had three of a kind?Too bad I got that 5, well too bad for you." he teased

"Just get it over with." she hissed. She wasn't looking forward to his question... What was he going to ask?

"Okay." he looked straight in her the eyes "Do you still love me?I'm only asking because I find it difficult to believe that you'd break up with if you still loved me."

"That's a ridiculous question." she commented

"I need an answer."

"Of course I still love you Sheldon, you know that... If I didn't love you I would break up with you instead of taking time to think, If I didn't love you we wouldn't be playing this stupid game right now!" she exclaimed

"Good... I love you too!" he smiled

"Shut up." she said and took the deck out his hand. It was her turn to deal.

She need to win this hand, she needed wipe that smug look off his face.

This time it seemed like luck was on her side... She had a pair of Aces!She was the small blind this time so she put another dollar in the pot and opened the flop.

A 2 of clubs, a 7 of spades and a Queen of hearts... A great start for Amy, there was no possibily for a flush or straight yet. Sheldon wouldn't beat her this time.

He bet 5 dollars. Maybe, he has a Queen she thought. But it didn't matter, he wouldn't beat her Aces so easily. She called his bet and opened the turn, which turned out to be a 10 of diamonds. This eliminated the possibility of a flush, but there was a chance of a straight now. It didn't worry Amy too much. It was hard to worry when she had a pair of Aces.

Sheldon bet 5 dollars again. What was he trying to do? Would he bet so much only with a straight draw? Or maybe he had two pair... In any case an Ace in the river would make Amy feel much better. She called and opened the last card.

Unfortunately it wasn't an Ace, but a 7 of hearts... Amy had two pair now and she was confident that she'd win.

"10 dollars." said Sheldon.

"Are you bluffing?" she asked "You know I don't care about money, I will never fold!Besides, I don't think you can beat me this time." she put 10 dollars in and showed him her Aces with a smile on her face.

"Oh my poor Amy." he cried "Baby, that's a bad beat." he said and he revealed a pair of 2.

The smile on Amy's face became a grimace of disbelief... He had a full house!

"I can't believe it!" she murmured "How can you be so lucky?"

He raised his shoulders and took 64 dollars from the pot.

"So... You keep saying that you don't think I love you the same way you do, what gave you this impression?"

Amy took a deep breath. Why did he have to ask this question?The fact that Sheldon wasn't in love with her was what hurt her the most, and talking about it wasn't something she wanted to do...

"I don't want to answer this question." she stated

"You lost this hand Amy, you have to answer. When I lose, I will answer any question you ask... Quid pro quo, Clarice."

His little joke didn't amuse her and she took another deep breath to keep her composure.

"Fine" she said "I just don't think you're in love with me Sheldon... You certainly don't act like a man in love. You only kiss me because you're obligated by a stupid contract and you don't intend to take our relationship to the next level. We've been together for 5 years and all I can get is one kiss after our dates and I know you're not even into it!It's like we're friends who occasionally kiss, but you only do it because you're used to having me around and you don't want to lose me."

"Amy that's not true..." he countered "I like kissing you, I'm the one who put it on the Relationship Agreement. And I kissed you yesterday without being obligated by the contract!"

"Yes Sheldon, you like kissing me so much that you're thinking about stupid TV-shows while doing it! And you only kissed me yesterday to get me to change my mind, don't deny it!"

"But..."

"No more talking... I answered your question, let's play another hand."

He dealt again, but her luck didn't change... Sheldon won with two pair and she had absolutely nothing.

She should never have agreed to do this... He had only asked her two questions but she was already overwhelmed. She dreaded the next question.

"Is this why thinking about Flash while we were kissing upset you so much?It made you think I'm not in love with you?"

"Partly, yes. It also reminded me everything that is wrong with our relationship. It was the last straw, I felt so rejected that I couldn't take it anymore!"

"I'm sorry Amy, I never meant to make you feel like that."

"You always make me feel like that..." she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and shuffled the deck.

She had a great hand, an Ace and a King of hearts. After they both put their 2 dollars in the pot she opened the flop, a 4, an 8 and a 10 all hearts!

Sheldon only checked and she bet 6 dollars. He called and she revealed the next card, a 2 of hearts. If Sheldon wasn't uneasy before, he was definitely uneasy now. He checked again and this time Amy bet 10 dollars. He put ten dollars in and she opened the river, a King of spades. He checked for the third time, clearly without a good hand and she bet 10 dollars again. Whether he called or folded she knew she would be the winner.

"I have nothing" he declared and he called the bet.

"Then why did you call?" she asked and showed him her flush.

"I don't like folding!Ask me your question"

"Alright... Since we were just talking about Flash, I'll stay on topic. Why were you thinking about it while we were making out?"

"Um... I... A mind like mine tends to think about a lot of things Amy, thinking about a TV-show doesn't exclude thinking about you. It's like multitasking." he smiled nervously and looked at his hands.

"Aha... You know I can tell when you're lying to my face, right?"

"I'm not lying!" he exclaimed

"Sheldon!"

"I don't want to answer this question!" he insisted

"Well, too bad... I answered your question, quid pro quo, you said it yourself."

"Fine!" he gave in "This is embarassing." he took a deep breath "You know, um, when men engage in such activities as kissing, we tend to get... excited. You're a biologist I don't have to explain it any further." he said, his face thoroughly blushed

"Aha... I don't I understand, what does Flash have to do with it?"

"I think about irrelevant things when we kiss so I won't get too 'excited' and embarass myself, okay?" he confessed

"Oh... Ooooh you do it so you won't get an..."

"Yes, can we stop talking about it?" he interrupted her

"Yeah... Wow, that actually makes me feel better." she smiled

"It does?So now that the misunderstanding is over, can we continue our relationship?" he asked hopefully

"No, Sheldon, I told you that this isn't our only problem..."

So they played again and it seemed that Sheldon's initial luck had deserted him... Amy won again with a straight.

The latest revelation had given her a lot to think about. So Sheldon did desire her sexually...

"From your answer to my previous question, I assume that you have sexual impluses..."

"I do." he mumbled

"That wasn't my question... Did you ever plan to act on your impluses?"

"Are you asking me if I planned to have sex with you?" he asked

"Yes." it was her turn to blush now.

"I did. I do, sooner than you'd think."

"You're just saying it so I'll take you back."

"No!You said you can tell when I'm lying to your face, am I lying now?Look at my eyes and tell me." he demanded

He wasn't lying... She didn't know what to say, so she dealt the cards.

She was so distracted during the next hand that she didn't even notice her cards.

_Sheldon wanted to have sex with me... And I asked for a break!_

Did she make a mistake?Maybe her relationship wasn't as hopeless as she thought, but there were other issues that bothered her. If they could be resolved there was hope for them...

Her lucky streak was broken and she lost to Sheldon's pair of Kings. It was his turn to ask her a question. He only needed to win two more hands to win the whole game!

"You seemed pleased when you realised that I desire you sexually, but you still won't reconcile with me... So what's the real reason you broke up with me?"

"You're right it's not just about the sex, though I've been very patient about this issue and it has taken it's toll on me. Actually, that's the least of our problems. The main reason I asked for some time to think things through is that our relationship doesn't move forward. We're at the same place we were five years ago. You never include me in your plans, you applied to move to another planet..."

"I asked you to come with me!" he protested

"Yes, after preparing an application to go alone, without even telling me. And it's not just about the application to go to Mars... You're so afraid of commitment that the last time I mentioned moving in together you left town without even saying goodbye!I thought things would change after you told me that you loved me, but I was wrong. I want to move forward in my life and I want to do it with you, but you constantly push me away. Everytime we take one step forward you take us ten steps backwards. It's just...It's really frustrating."

She looked at Sheldon and she saw that he had tears pouring down his face.

"Sheldon..." she started

"I had no idea I was such an inadequate boyfriend... I make you feel rejected and I stop you from progressing in your life. I thought that... But maybe now it's too late, maybe I waited too long..." he rambled

"Sheldon, what are you talking about?" she asked

"Nothing" he wiped the tears off his face "Let's play another hand."

Amy beat him with two pair, but it didn't seem to bother him. He was still winning 4-3.

"Why are you so afraid of commitment?" she asked

"I'm not afraid of commitment, but I was afraid of change, you know that I hate changes. And now I might lose you because of that." he muttered

They played the 8th hand and Sheldon lost again. He was very quiet, avoiding eye-contact and he didn't seem to care about the game anymore. He looked like his spirit was broken.

Amy had no idea what else to ask him. She'd already asked all the things she wanted. And then she remembered...

"What's the mysterious prize?"

This question snapped Sheldon out of his melancholic state.

"That question is off-limits, you can't ask me that!"

"We never set any limits, now tell me what's the prize!" she demanded

He got off the bed, ramaged through his suitcase and came back with a small ring box in his hands.

"What is this?" she stared with disbelief

"It's an engagement ring." he answered

"When did you buy it?" she asked in an urgent tone

"I already answered one question, you can ask me again if you win the next hand."

"Sheldon I'm serious..."

"So am I. Let's play!"

She didn't want to play. She only wanted to know when had he bought that ring. If he bought it after she asked for a break, she would be sure it was one his ploys to get her back. But was there any chance he bought it before?

Luck was on Amy's side and she won the next hand with a pair of Jacks. She was winning now,5-4...

"When did you buy the ring Sheldon?"

"I didn't buy it." he replied

"What?How did you get it?Most importantly, when did you get it?"

"It doesn't matter... You deserve someone better than me.I don't want to play anymore."

"It does matter!You can't just throw a bomb at me and then quit!We need to finish the game."

He dealt the cards and part of Amy was happy when she saw that she had 7-2, a lousy hand.

She didn't want to win anymore, she didn't want him to leave her alone, not now that there was a glimmer of hope.

"I fold." she suddenly heard him saying "You win."


	8. Chapter 8

_How could I have been so blind?_Thought Sheldon as he was dealing the cards.

Amy had put up with him for five long years, dealing with feelings of rejection and unfulfillment on a daily basis, and Sheldon... Sheldon was the cause of all her problems. All this time since Amy broke up with him he thought that he was the victim of a misunderstanding, he thought he could fix things, he thought that he could make her happy. But the truth was that he was the reason she was unhappy in the first place. He wasn't good for her.

"I fold." he said without even looking at his cards "You win."

"What?" shrieked Amy "No, you can't do this, not now!"

"I can. A player has the right to fold at any time." he said and lowered his head, letting tears pour down his face.

He couldn't bare to look at her anymore, he felt so guilty for all that he'd done to her. He wanted to scream that was he sorry, but all the apologies in the world couldn't redeem his actions.

"Look at me!" she demanded and placed her hands on his cheeks, raising his head so he was looking directly at her eyes. She was crying too, he saw.

"What happened to the man who wouldn't leave me alone until we got back together again?Where did all your determination go?" she asked him

"Amy..." he muttered, turning his gaze elsewhere. He couldn't bare to look at those eyes anymore, thinking that they have shed so many tears because of him.

"It doesn't matter anymore..." he finished his sentence.

"Of course it matters!" she screamed "You forced me into this, you made me believe there's hope for us and now you're going to quit?Just like that?I won't I accept it!If you love me the same way I do, as you claim, then fight for me."

He looked at her again. She had stopped crying now, and her green eyes were shining. She looked angry again, but it was a different kind of anger, unlike what he'd delt with yesterday. It looked like the wall of ice between them had melted and now she was the one determined to fight.

Sheldon gently grasped her hands, removed them from his face and held them as he said:

"I gave up precisely because I love you , Amy. I realize now, after all we've talked about, that I have caused you a lot of pain. Your decision to break up with me was completely justified. You deserve someone better than me." he confessed

"That's for me to decide!" she said as she pulled her hands away from his.

"And for the hundredth time, I didn't break up with you!" she screamed "Did it occur to you why I didn't?It's because I love you and I wanted to make this work, somehow. All I needed was time to think how we could work things out, but you didn't even grant me that!You did everything you could to get me to talk to you, you even got an engagement ring, and now you'll just give up because you finally realized your mistakes?No, I won't let you quit, not now, so put another dollar in the pot and let's finish this game."

The tone of her voice didn't give him much room to argue. Amy was right, they had to finish the game. It didn't matter; win or lose, he would leave her alone.

He put another dollar in the pot and finally looked at his cards. This time, he had the pair of Aces.

He didn't even care about the cards on the board. His instict told him that he was going to win. Neither of them made any bets, they just kept checking. Amy was propably afraid that he'd fold again.

"I got nothing." said Amy after they had checked for the last time "You?"

Instead of answering, he showed her his Aces.

"I can't believe you tried to fold a pair of Aces!" she exclaimed

"I hadn't seen my hand when I folded..."

"Go on, ask me a question!" she urged him

"I don't have anything else to ask you."

"Come on, Sheldon, you won so you have to ask me a question. You made up the rules."

"Fine." he gave in "Why did you put up with me for so long?" he asked

"Because I love you Sheldon!I've already told you that..."

"So just because you're in love you compromised with being unhappy?"

"I wasn't unhappy Sheldon... Simply because we have some problems, like all other couples, it doesn't mean that I'm unhappy. Over the years we've shared so many wonderful moments, moments that made me the happiest woman alive. Relationships have their ups and downs, that doesn't mean that you've made me miserable."

He knew it deep inside that they had been happy together, despite their ups and downs. This woman had made him experience a kind of happiness that he had never imagined. She had compelled him to constantly want more from their relationship, to move things forward. That is why he wanted to marry her, not only because he loved her, but because she was the key to his happiness. But was he the key to hers?

He didn't know what to say, so he gave her the deck to deal the cards for their last hand.

This time he had a 6 of clubs and a 9 of spades, not a very promising combination.

When Amy opened the flop, he was surprised to see a 7 of hearts, an 8 of diamonds and a 10 of clubs, giving him a straight.

Yet again neither of them made any bets. Their entire relatioship was on the table, nobody cared about the money. The turn and the river cards didn't threaten Sheldon's straight, and as Amy checked for the last time, he prepared for the final showdown.

Amy showed him her hand, a Jack and a 9, giving her a straight as well, but higher than his. Amy had won!

"You won" he utterd "I'll leave you alone, as I promised."

"No, wait!" she cried "You still owe me one last answer."

"Okay." he replied

"When did you get the ring Sheldon?" she asked,as if her life depended on the answer.

"I got it two weeks ago..." he started "My mother brought it for me when she visited. It's my Meemaw's engagement ring, a family heirloom, that's why I said I didn't buy it. If you don't believe me, you can ask my mother."

"I believe you." she said as a pair of tears race down her cheeks

"You can keep it, I'll never give it to anyone else. You'll always be the one."

"When" her voice cracked "When were you planning on giving it to me?"

"On the night of our fifth anniversary, but then we started fighting so I didn't think it was the right time... Then I was going to ask you over skype, because technically we met online and I thought it would be fitting, but you asked for some time apart so..."

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed and broke down in tears

Sheldon wrapped his hands around her as she pressed her head on his chest.

"Please don't cry" he said holding his own tears with difficulty

"I'm so sorry, Sheldon." she managed to say between her sobs

"Why are you sorry?I'm the one who caused all the problems."

"I asked for a break while you were planning to propose to me!And then main reason I did it was because our relatioship wasn't moving forward... Could I be more stupid?"

"You're not stupid, it was just bad timing. You couldn't have known and the Flash incident drove you over the edge. It's all my fault, if I hadn't treated you so badly you would have never asked for a break. I should have acted sooner, maybe now it's too late..."

"No!" she said and broke their embrace "It's not too late!All my problems regarding our relationship are resolved, I see now that you love me and want to move forward with me. That's all I needed to know..."

Sheldon's heart swelled with joy. For the first time in two days he could breathe again

"So you don't need any more time to evaluate things?" he asked hopefully

"No, I don't... And if you can forgive me for all the pain I caused you, can I be your girlfriend again?" she smiled

"No, you can't" he said and saw her smile vanishing "But you can be my wife."


	9. Chapter 9

Amy felt like she was on cloud nine. For years she had hopped that Sheldon would finally declare she was the one and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but now that he actually said the words she couldn't believe it. She wanted to pinch herself just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Just 24 hours ago she had made the hard decision to take a break from her relationship with Sheldon and now there he was, asking her to be his wife.

She had been too speechless to form any coherent sentences, so Sheldon was looking eagerly at her with an expression of worry written all over his face. She smiled at him and when she finally found her voice she couldn't hold her tears of joy.

"Are you sure you still want to marry me after all I put us through?" she asked

She couldn't help but feeling a bit stupid now that she'd realized that all this drama since yesterday had been in vain. If she hadn't been so stubborn and had allowed Sheldon to talk to her the situation would have been resolved much sooner.

"I've already told you Amy, it was all my fault. I shouldn't have waited so long to make a commitment to you. How were you supposed to know I was about to ask you to marry me when I made you feel so undesired?I should have been more clear about my feelings to you... Can you forgive me?"

"I already have, Sheldon. I love you so much." she smiled

"Well then, I need to do this properly." he declared and got off the bed taking the ring box with him. He got on one knee and held her hand.

"Amy" he started as his bright blue eyes gazed into hers "It's been five years since the day we met and even then, five years ago, I knew I felt something strong for you. I didn't want to admit it to anyone, not even to myself so I attributed my attraction to you to the similarities of our personalities. I tried to view you solely as my intelectual equal, but as I got to know you better my feelings for you got so strong that I simply couldn't hide the fact that I love you. You've made me experience emotions that I never knew existed, you've made me change into a better person. This change frightened me at first so I fought it at every turn. But you never gave up on me, even when I drove you over the edge you were able to forgive me. It took me some time but now I'm finally able to admit that you're the key to my happiness... Spending just one day thinking that I lost you forever was so hard to bear that I realized that life without you would be unimaginable..."

Sheldon paused for a second and opened the box revealing a beautiful diamond ring. By now tears were pouring down on both their faces.

"So, Amy Farrah Fowler, will you marry me?" he finally asked with a big smile on his face.

"Yes!" answered Amy and lept into his arms nearly knocking him to the floor.

Every time Sheldon and Amy kissed she had been afraid that if she made the wrong move she might scare him away, but this time she kissed him without any apprehension. She placed her hands on his head running her fingers through his hair and wrapped her legs around his waist. She would consider doing something like that unthinkable a few hours ago but now things were diffirent because she knew he was in love with her. Sheldon immediately kissed her back and placed his hands on her lower back, throwing the little box on the floor.

They had never been so close before, Amy felt like they were one person. Judging from the way he was kissing her she was sure that he wasn't thinking about anything else...

Sheldon lowered his right hand and started grazing her thigh and Amy moved her lips to his neck.

"I love you so much" he whispered in her ear

"I love you too" she mutterd back

Then suddenly Amy was lying on the floor with Sheldon on top of her. Now he was the one kissing the curve of her neck, slowly making his way down to her breasts. At this moment her phone rang.

"Ignore it." said Sheldon and she happily obliged.

But the phone kept ringing and the annoying sound was killing their mood.

"Just give me a second." said Amy in an exasperated tone

Sheldon sighed and stole one last kiss from her before he let her get up and answer the phone.

Amy soon found out that the person who was eager to get in touch with her was Bernadette. She felt slightly angry with her friend for ruing such a perfect moment but she picked up her phone anyway.

"Hey Bernadette." she said breathlessly

"Are you still sleeping?You sound weird." asked Bernadette

"What?Oh yeah I just woke up." she lied and cleared her throat

"Is Sheldon there with you?"

"Yes, why?"

"Okay, try not to react to anything I say. I wouldn't call but I need your help." she was starting to sound panicky now.

"Tell me, what is it?" asked Amy

"Penny ran away!"


	10. Chapter 10

Sheldon lied on the floor, breathing heavily his heart racing with excitement. He had never felt like this before. For the first time in his life he felt sheer bliss. Letting go off all his fears was easier than he expected, he just let Amy swoop into his arms and nothing else mattered anymore. A few years ago, the mere thought of touching someone would be enough to make him him cringe, but it was different with Amy. He wanted to feel every inch of her body, he wanted to kiss her until his lips went numb, he wanted... He wanted her!He had been considering having sex with Amy ever since they kissed on the train on Valentine's day almost 2 years ago, but his fears always hindered him. Now though, Amy had just agreed to become his wife and there's was nothing else holding him back. She was his and he was hers.

The beginning of their first sexual encounter, however, had been cruelly interrupted by the phone. Sheldon, slightly annoyed and fully aroused, was waiting impatiently for Amy to finish her conversation. He assumed he was talking to Penny. Penny had finally taken her revenge on him for the all times he interrupted her and Leonard.

"I have to go!" announced Amy and started taking clothes out of her suitcase.

"What?" exclaimed Sheldon and got at once on his feet.

Was she having second thoughts about their engagement?Or did he do something wrong during their romantic embarace?The old fear returned to him and gripped on his insides.

"I'm sorry, the girls called me and there's, um, a wedding emergency... I'm the Maid of Honor, I have to go!" she rambled on without looking at him.

Sheldon wasn't convinced by this because Amy looked visibly upset. She seemed panicky and her body language indicated that she was lying.

"Amy, is everything okay?Do you have any second thoughts about getting married?" he dared to ask

"No, of course not." she sighed "I'll expain everything to you when I get back, but now I have to get dressed, Bernadette will stop by in 5 minutes."

This time Sheldon believed that Amy didn't have any doubts about their engagement. A burden was lifted from his heart, but there's was still the possibility he had been too forward and had scared her. He needed to test that.

"Oh you want to get dress?Let me help you." he said and came close to her.

She was wearing a pink long-sleeved nightgown which was buttoned at the front. He started undoing the buttons.

"What are you doing?" asked Amy

"I'm undressing you. In order to get dressed you need to be undressed first, right?

He had undone enough buttons so he was able to slide down the nightgown and reveal her bare shoulders and the top of her breasts. Amy didn't react, so he planted a kiss on her shoulder and moved the nightgown further down, leaving her torso completely naked. Delicately, he placed his hand on her left breast while resting the other one on her bottom. Amy gave a sigh of pleasure and tilted her head back, so he started kissing her neck. He quickly laid her on the bed and took off the nightgown completely, leaving her only in her underwear. He removed his own T-shirt, lied on top of her and they started to kiss passionately. The feeling of her naked body on his was amazing, unlike anything he had felt before. Amy obviously wanted him as much as he did and now he felt absolutely relieved. The reason Amy wanted to leave had really nothing to do with him.

Suddenly, Amy pulled away from him.

"God, I can't believe I'm saying this, but we have to stop!I really need to go." she said breathlessly

"Is it that serious?Can't Penny and Bernadette handle it on their own?"

"Yes, it serious. Trust me, I wouldn't even consider going if it weren't necessary. I'm sorry!"

"Fine" he fussed and let her get off the bed "But I'll punish you for this. Maybe it's time you had another spanking."

"Stop, you're killing me!" she laughed and started to dress. Sheldon got off the bed and picked up the ring box

She was putting her shoes on when Sheldon asked:

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?" she asked

"This" he said and showed her the diamond ring that once belonged to his Meemaw.

"Aww, I can't put it on!"

"What?Why not?"

"We can't announce our engagement now!Our friends are, um, getting married!We have to wait a couple of weeks."

"That means more lying... I hate this!" he complained

"I know, I'm sorry..."

At this moment there was a knock on the door.

"It's Bernadette, I have to go." she said and left him lying on the bed, alone, holding an engagement ring. This isn't how he imagined celebrating their engagement.

However, Amy had a good reason to leave him like this. He was curious to find out.

He decided to take a cold shower and join Leonard and the others... Maybe they knew something he didn't.

* * *

"Tell me again, what happened?" asked Amy

"We were in my room and we were talking about if she should get a veil or something. Everything was normal and then I went to the bathroom and she was gone!She also sent me a text saying that she can't do this and she needs time to think!What are we gonna do?"

"Did you try calling her?"

Amy wanted to resolve this as quickly as possible and return to her room. Bernadette had interrupted the most beautiful moment in her life, and though she didn't do it intentionally, she couldn't help but feel a little resentful torwards her.

"What do you think?" she asked sarcastically "Her phone's off."

"Did you look for her?"

"No, I called you so we could figure this out together!"

"Why?" retorted Amy

"Are you kidding me?You're the Maid of Honor, when the bride goes missing you have to look for her!What's wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry, I'm still really hangover!"

"Well, suck it up, we have to look at every bar in this hotel. She propably needs a drink before she dumps her fiance."

Every bar in the hotel?Amy's hopes to get this done quickly just went out the window.

"I hate you." she muttered under her breath

"What?"

"Nothing" she murmured

* * *

It didn't take them too long to find Penny at a bar, drinking tequila alone.

"I knew I had to get out of here quickly." she said when she saw them

"Penny!What's wrong?Why did you leave?" asked Amy

"Please tell us!" implored Bernadette

"I can't do it... I just can't. That's all I can say now."

"Did you get cold feet?" asked Bernadette "You know it's perfectly natural..."

"Nope, my feet were pretty warm, I'm the one who asked him to get married in Vegas."

"Then why did you change your mind?" asked Amy

"I can't tell you now... I just have to go!" she cried

"Penny, you're not making sense!Did you think of Leonard?He'll be crushed!"

The mention of Leonard seemed to infuriated her and she took a shot of tequila.

"Leonard?Don't talk to me about Leonard!" she slammed the shot glass down "You know what, I'm sick of always being the bad guy in this relatioship!Leonard cheated on me..." she screamed

"What?" exclaimed Amy and Bernadette in unison

"Yeah, he told me himself yesterday, he wanted to come clean before the wedding!"

"Oh my God, when?" asked Bernadette

"When he was on that boat for 4 months... He kissed another woman!"

"So it was just a kiss?" asked Amy

"Just a kiss?How would you feel if Sheldon kissed another woman?" bellowed Penny

"I'd find the bitch and cut her lips off... Okay, I get it, I'm sorry. But, if he told you yesterday why did you agree to come here?"

"I thought I was okay with it... He said it was just kissing and he was drunk, so I told him we could put it behind us."

"Well, if he was drunk..." started Bernadette

"I'm drunk all the time, I never kissed some random guy!" she snapped

"Anyway, I thought I could get over it, but when I went to bed last night... I couldn't get it out of my head. The thought of Leonard touching another woman, kissing her... It's more than I can stand!" she started to cry

"Aww Penny!" said Amy and put her arms around her friend.

"I tried... I tried to keep it together today, but I snapped!I have to leave, I need time to think."

"So, you're not breaking up with him?" asked Bernadette

"No, I need to see if I can find a way to forgive him... I still love him!"

Penny took off her engagement ring and gave it to Amy. She never expected to be handed two diamond rings in one day.

"You want me to give it back to him?"

"Yes" she sniffed "I can't talk to him, tell him not to contact me... I'll be away for a while, maybe I'll go to Nebraska. I have to get out of here!"

So Penny said goodbye to her friends and left for the airport.

How ironic, on the happiest day of Amy's life, her bestie was suffering. And she was also charged with breaking Leonard's heart...


	11. Chapter 11

_I can't find the words to express how sorry I am for taking so long to update this story... The only excuse is that life just got in the way!I will try my hardest to update as frequently as possible, and I promise to finish this story. Thank you for all the support!_

* * *

This day had been an emotional roller-coaster for Sheldon Cooper. He had gone from heart-broken to ecstatic, but now he just felt insecure. Amy had put an abrupt end to their engagement celebration and although she assured him it had nothing to do with them, he couldn't help feeling doubtful. he had given everything she ever wanted from their relationship and she just abandoned him because of some wedding nonsense. Well, he figured he might deserved for everything he put her through...

After he took his cold shower, he head to Leonard's room where all the guys had assembled to drink and celebrate Leonard's last hours as a single man.

"It's still noon." he told them when all the empty mini-bar bottles.

"Buzzkill" muttered Howard.

"Do you want a drink?" asked Leonard

"No, I've had enough yesterday... Why don't you go down to the bar?"

"We can't!" exclaimed Howard and shot a dirty look at Raj "Slumdog Millionaire here got drunk and started counting cards so we got kicked out of the casino!"

"How did you get caught?"

"He was counting out loud!" explained Stewart

"Did they ban you from the bars too?" wondered Sheldon

"We're too scared to go downstairs, okay?" fussed Raj "Anyway, it's my fault he can't go,so these ridiculously expensive drinks are on me"

"Shut up, you're loaded" said Howard

"Anyway" started Leonard "How's Amy?Is she feeling better?"

"Yes, she's alright!"

"So, why did you try to get her drunk last night? he asked

"You caught on that huh?Well, um, I wanted her to tell me about that stripper." he lied

"Look at that, Sheldon Cooper is jealous, I never thought I'd live to see the day." laughed Howard

"Oh he had been jealous even before they started dating. One time, Amy and I went to a wedding together and he hit me becacause he thought I had sex with her." said Leonard and everyone started laughing.

"Let's make a toast" proposed Leonard "To love!"

Everyone, minus Sheldon, clinked glasses.

"Hey Sheldon, now that Leonard and Penny are tying the knot,you're next!" remarked Howard

"What about me?" protested Raj

"You almost broke up with her yesterday, and you think she might be a serial killer!"

"Yes, but I told her that I love her and being a serial killer is only a problem if she gets caught!Dexter had a pretty normal life."

"His wife got murdered!" retorted Howard

"Dude, spoiler alert!I've only watched three seasons."

"Watch the other five and then get back to me about marrying a serial killer."

"Serial killers aside" said Leonard "Howard's right,you're next!"

"Yeah,you've tortured the poor girl long enough,when are you gonna pop up the question?" insisted Howard

Sheldon felt so guilty he had to lie again. He wanted to share his happiness with his friends but Amy wouldn't allow it. He was sure Leonard wouldn't care if they announced their engagement on his wedding day, but Amy didn't want to upstage them. Obsurd girly thought process...

"Hey, don't pressure him, he might become a train hobo again." joked Raj

"Actually, I don't feel any pressure... Amy and I are at good point in our relationship and I think we're ready to take the next step." he explained

Although he wasn't at liberty to reveal his engagement to them, he could at least cue them in about his future plans. Amy had never forbidden that.

"Are you finally gonna put out?" laughed Howard

"I don't see why not..." shrugged Sheldon

The initial shock of his friends was followed by a concert of "woohoos". Raj advised him to "clean the pipes", while Howard offered to buy him a book called "Sex for Dummies".

Before he could point out that he had an IQ of 187 and he couldn't be characterized as a dummy in any way, he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

It was Amy, followed by a visibly angry Bernadette.

"No girls allowed in the groom's headquarters!' announced Wolowiz

"Shut up Howie, it's serious!" retorted Bernadette

"What's wrong?" asked Leonard

"I'll tell you what's wrong, you jerk!" she snapped at him

"Bernadette, maybe I should talk?" pleaded Amy

"Fine" she yielded and shot a dirty look at Leonard

"Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?"

"Leonard, there's no easy way to say this..." Amy paused and took a deep breath "Penny just left. She needs some time to think about, um, everything you told her yesterday... She also asked me to give you this." she said and took Penny's engagement ring out of her pocket.

"No" he muttered in disbelief "She forgave me...She said she was okay with it."

He sat down, took off his glasses and wiped some tears away.

"Dude, what happened?" asked Raj

"He cheated on her, that's what happened!" exclaimed Bernadette

"You told her?" asked Howard

"You knew about it?" retorted Bernadette

"You told Howard and you didn't tell me?" whined Raj

"Will everybody shut up?" yelled Leonard. He turned at Amy "When did she leave?Maybe I can catch up to her, we have to talk."

"I wouldn't advise that, Leonard. She was really shaken up, she needs some space. Talking will only make things worse right now."

"Not necessarily." chimed in Sheldon

The news of Leonard's infidelity didn't make any sense. For years he had observed his blind love for Penny... Surely, he couldn't have cheated on her!Maybe it was a misunderstanding.

"Sheldon, don't interfere!" barked Amy

"What, you'll forbid me to give advice to my best friend now?" he snapped back "I was in the same situation just yesterday,I think my advice would be helpful."

"Sheldon!" exclaimed Amy

"What are you talking about?" asked Bernadette

"Well, if you must know..." started Sheldon

"Please, don't!" begged Amy

"Amy broke up with me yesterday!" he announced

"What?" everyone, minus Leonard, asked in unison

"It's all fine now, we got back together, actually we got engaged."

"What the hell?" screeched Bernadette "Why didn't you tell us?" she turned at Amy

Amy opened her mouth to answer but she was interrupted by Sheldon.

"Apparently, Amy is embarassed, she didn't even want to wear the ring!"

"Will you shut up already?Our best friends are suffering and all you can think about is your petty problems!I didn't say anything because I didn't want to throw shade at the wedding, and after Penny left I thought it was inappropriate..." she glared at Sheldon

"You didn't have to hide anything buddy..." Leonard looked at Sheldon "I'm happy for you either way."

"Leonard, I'm so sorry!" cried Amy "This is exactly why I didn't want to say anything!Instead of focusing on Leonard who's having a rough time, we're arguing about our stupid engagement!"

"She's right, do you need anything buddy?" asked Raj

"I... I just need to leave this place. I have to get back home, I have to see Penny!"

"We'll get the next flight out, don't worry we'll take care of everything." said Howard

"Alright then, everyone let's go pack our things and we'll meet in 20 minutes... I'm sure leonard needs his privacy." said Amy

Everyone went to their rooms and Sheldon was alone with Amy again... He had been keeping quiet since her outburst because he didn't want to anger her even more. He didn't understand why she was so upset. After all, Leonard didn't seem to mind.

"I don't really get what set you off, Amy..." he broke the ice

"You don't?My God, Sheldon, you just caused a scene right after your best friend found out his relationship might be over, you don't get why that would upset me?"  
"But the scene was caused precisely because you forced me to lie in the first place!"

"Sheldon, I don't want to argue right now...It's been a long couple of days, I just want to pack and go home." she moaned

"You're right" he sighed "So, do you want to wear the ring?"

She looked at him with an exasperated expression on her face, turned her back on him, walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

"I suppose not!" Sheldon yelled just outside the door.

He didn't know what it all meant for their relationship, he didn't know if Amy's anger would eventually fade, but he felt like he was back where he started two days ago.


End file.
